I love credit cards so much! v2.0 (see first page for add'l details)

[SouthFayetteFan]

This is so true lol. I feel like it’s a problem though and making me a slight addict.

Remove the word slight and you have what I am...

 

[Judique]

Paging @Judique - our resident Amtrak expert!

I have the BOA Amtrak card and a bunch of Amtrak points but I'm not much of an expert. That would be @striker1064 .

The one thing I know about Amtrak is that booking in advance seems to be essential to get the best rates and almost just to get a ride. I'm mostly interested for potential autotrain rides for my car.

 

[Alexle2007]

Now that my CIP bonus has posted, it’s time to book the Park Hyatt Sydney! The Hyatt site keeps referring to the hotels being in the CBD and all I can think of the “weed” area at not where I want to be taking DS. But it really means “central business direct.” So funny how abbreviations have different connotations.

 

[striker1064]

For those of you who do bank bonuses - how do you usually close out the bank account? I did my first one this year and need to close my Wells Fargo account. Do I just move all money out and then call and ask to close account? Can it be done through a private message (I really hate calling lol)?

Thanks for any advice! I'd like to try to get a few more this coming year.

WF is super easy - just transfer all the money out, and send an SM. They will close it for you once the transfer clears and the account is at $0.

 

[happ]

I have two boys and this has never been an issue for me lol.

Same here.

 

[LuckyMamaInDE]

Officially announcing the gender!!
View attachment 461090

I’m beyond excited that it’s a boy!! I absolutely can’t wait! My brother has two boys so it’ll be so fun to see them play together and I’m not girly AT ALL. I can’t wait to play with hot wheels and trucks. I have a video because I opened the outfit while Dh cut the cake and you can hear me say “yes, it’s a boy!” Lol. My SIL made the cake and I think it turned out really well.

Congratulations!!

Now that my CIP bonus has posted, it’s time to book the Park Hyatt Sydney! The Hyatt site keeps referring to the hotels being in the CBD and all I can think of the “weed” area at not where I want to be taking DS. But it really means “central business direct.” So funny how abbreviations have different connotations.

I still have to book some internal flights before I can decide which days we'll be at the Park Hyatt--was just on the Hyatt site yesterday making sure all the potential days were available for points.

And I'm the opposite with CBD---I have to think hard about what the plant-based acronym stands for

 

[Alexle2007]

Congratulations!!

I still have to book some internal flights before I can decide which days we'll be at the Park Hyatt--was just on the Hyatt site yesterday making sure all the potential days were available for points.

And I'm the opposite with CBD---I have to think hard about what the plant-based acronym stands for

Yeah, I am still working out all of the internal flights too. I am debating Whether to start in Brisbane/Gold Coast or Cairns/Coff’s Harbour. I just have all of my points together now that I can actually book the entire trip.

 

[happ]

Officially announcing the gender!!
View attachment 461090

I’m beyond excited that it’s a boy!! I absolutely can’t wait! My brother has two boys so it’ll be so fun to see them play together and I’m not girly AT ALL. I can’t wait to play with hot wheels and trucks. I have a video because I opened the outfit while Dh cut the cake and you can hear me say “yes, it’s a boy!” Lol. My SIL made the cake and I think it turned out really well.

Congratulations!

 

[have2getaway]

What are your trip dates? You’re also coming off President’s day the weekend prior so you’re in a tough spot there. There might be lingering crowds who extend that weekend into a full week trip. Not trying to be negative, just realistic.

Count me in the gift card payoff camp as well. I couldn’t even tell you what card I have tied to my hotel

We will be at Portofino Bay at Universal over President’s Day weekend and we are at Disney for 3 nights (2/17-2/20). We used our gift cards to pay down our charges last trip. I had so many cards (3–Yes 3 redemption cards from 3 Disney cards) plus 1 gift card that I didn’t want to risk forgetting them at home, so...I used them towards paying the cost for our package this trip. I had about $600 total. I will still earn points using our CSR on the reservation, and I thought we might want to use the Disney Visa for 10% on some of our meals. We have 5 over 10 now so we opted not to do the dining this trip. Was That a bad move? Could we still get the 10% off if we use the Disney Visa card on file and pay down the hotel charges with gift cards?

 

[disfanforlife]

We will be at Portofino Bay at Universal over President’s Day weekend and we are at Disney for 3 nights (2/17-2/20). We used our gift cards to pay down our charges last trip. I had so many cards (3–Yes 3 redemption cards from 3 Disney cards) plus 1 gift card that I didn’t want to risk forgetting them at home, so...I used them towards paying the cost for our package this trip. I had about $600 total. I will still earn points using our CSR on the reservation, and I thought we might want to use the Disney Visa for 10% on some of our meals. We have 5 over 10 now so we opted not to do the dining this trip. Was That a bad move? Could we still get the 10% off if we use the Disney Visa card on file and pay down the hotel charges with gift cards?

I don’t think it’s a bad idea at all to not have the dining plan. But you won’t get a discount with the Disney visa, that is only on merchandise. For restaurants you need an AP, or DVC card for a discount. So you might as well use discounted gift cards to pay or your CSR if that gets you a better percentage. I don’t have one so not sure about that.

 

[disfanforlife]

Friend was at DHS this morning, arrived 45 minutes before park opening and got boarding group 65.

Thanks, We will definitely go early. We have a split stay, I am now thinking of going to dhs when we are at BW so we can walk versus when we are at AK and have to ride the bus.

 

[LuckyMamaInDE]

Anyone planning a trip to Australia and including Uluru, the Ayers Rock Resort (the only place to stay) is having a huge 40% off sale through January 10. It includes all 5 properties but not all types of rooms.

https://www.ayersrockresort.com.au/accommodation/specials/end-of-year-sale
I've been waiting and waiting for a sale, and this is definitely better than any of the ones I had seen previously. We'll be saving about $430 USD on our one bedroom Emu Walk apartment!

 

[Alexle2007]

Anyone planning a trip to Australia and including Uluru, the Ayers Rock Resort (the only place to stay) is having a huge 40% off sale through January 10. It includes all 5 properties but not all types of rooms.

https://www.ayersrockresort.com.au/accommodation/specials/end-of-year-sale
I've been waiting and waiting for a sale, and this is definitely better than any of the ones I had seen previously. We'll be saving about $430 USD on our one bedroom Emu Walk apartment!

Nice. Our plan is just to do the east coast.

 

[hsmamato2]

Some Amex Blue cards do not earn MR points. To keep your MR points safe you need an MR earning card. So it depends on which flavor of the Blue cards you got.

!!! it's called Blue from Amex..... landing page said earn 1x point per dollar spent...so that's an MR earning/holding card...I hope! (I didn't relish using a */24 spot for this but didn't want to lose the MR's I had)

 

[brownhaired_girl]

Officially announcing the gender!!
View attachment 461090

I’m beyond excited that it’s a boy!! I absolutely can’t wait! My brother has two boys so it’ll be so fun to see them play together and I’m not girly AT ALL. I can’t wait to play with hot wheels and trucks. I have a video because I opened the outfit while Dh cut the cake and you can hear me say “yes, it’s a boy!” Lol. My SIL made the cake and I think it turned out really well.

Congrats @Haley R. Did your tailbone get better?

 

[hsmamato2]

Looks like I won! Congrats! I really wanted a girl and wouldn’t let DH say the “b” word. I even bought the cutest little girl’s outfit in anticipation. But then we had my sonogram and they were sure it was a boy. DH was happy and I wouldn’t trade him for the world.

congrats @Haley R I wouldn't trade my boys for the world either!

 

[disfanforlife]

!!! it's called Blue from Amex..... landing page said earn 1x point per dollar spent...so that's an MR earning/holding card...I hope! (I didn't relish using a */24 spot for this but didn't want to lose the MR's I had)

This is the only MR card I have. Had it for years. I have been thinking about getting a new Amex for my next card. So it’s nice to know that the one I have is a keeper and it’s free. I have been using it at Sam’s club the last few months a lot because I have 4X extras points MR there until the end of the year.

 

[hsmamato2]

This is the only MR card I have. Had it for years. I have been thinking about getting a new Amex for my next card. So it’s nice to know that the one I have is a keeper and it’s free. I have been using it at Sam’s club the last few months a lot because I have 4X extras points MR there until the end of the year.

good to know! Then I can get rid of that AF as soon as I get this set up!

 

[Alexle2007]

Sharing this AmEx vs Chase Fine Hotels article since it was a recent topic of discussion.
https://millionmilesecrets.com/guid...nd-resorts-vs-luxury-hotel-resort-collection/

 

[have2getaway]

I don’t think it’s a bad idea at all to not have the dining plan. But you won’t get a discount with the Disney visa, that is only on merchandise. For restaurants you need an AP, or DVC card for a discount. So you might as well use discounted gift cards to pay or your CSR if that gets you a better percentage. I don’t have one so not sure about that.

The Disney Visa gives 10% off at select Disney restaurants. We will be eating at a few of them. The Chase Sapphire Reserve would give us 3% on our food purchases.